A good masala chai that tasted more like a traditional Indian spiced tea than a modern flavored tea.

This was passed on to me through a friend of my family. I've been wanting to try Zhi tea for a while. This probably isn't the type of tea I'd pick though if given a choice -- I prefer pure teas. That said, this te...

Green chai is always a tricky one for me; I think of masala chai as being a blending tradition that is inextricably woven into the flavor profile of strong black teas. While traditional masala chai goes well with milk, I think of green tea as not going well with milk at all. I never know what to expect when I try a g...

A traditional chai that is smooth in flavor but is potently spiced, and equally enjoyable with and without milk.

For having such a finely-broken (CTC) base, this tea is surprisingly mellow and smooth. The dry leaf smells very fresh and light, and the dominant aroma is cardamom, and I can also detect clove. This bo...

Like most of Tazo's teas, I think this improved greatly in the change to the full leaf version. But I don't think it's just the quality of ingredients, I think the blend of spices has changed considerably.

The old, flat tea bag was dominated by clove, and although it wasn't too heavy on the cinnamon, it was also to...

A sample from the Philadelphia Coffee and Tea Festival. Thank you, Salada, for providing me with many samples. This one surprised me; I don't think of Salada as a brand that I normally like, but I always approach teas with an open mind, and I'm glad I did because I really liked this tea.

A sample from the Philadelphia Coffee and Tea Festival. After being impressid with this company's English Breakfast, I was eager to try this one. It's enjoyable, but nothing like what I expected. I've tried this several times and can't shake the impression that it tastes and smells strongly of apples, particularly, ...

This one sort-of works--as the spices make it matter a lot less that the base tea is as bland as it is.

I tried this out of curiosity, open to the possibility that I might pour it out without drinking (as I have with some decaf teas). I was pleasantly surprised, which in retrospect, makes considerable sense, since ...

The leaf is very finely broken, which made me afraid that this one would be too strong, but I find the black tea used as the base is very mild. I don't know where it's from, but it reminds me of some of the milder high-grown Ceylon teas.

The dry leaf smells a bit like potpourri, and a bit like a regular Masala chai.

Upon brewing, this tea is quite peppery and almost prickly on the palate. The brewed cup is not as floral-smelling as the leaf. Aroma is complex and hard to describe: I definitely notice the clove, but the other aromas seem to blend to...

Lightly smoky, like the base tea contains some Lapsang souchong...I initially notice the smoke more than the spice, but I also notice a lot of clove and ginger, and some cinnamon. I don't really notice the vanilla or cardamom--I always think you can add more cardamom as it's my favorite spice.

Aroma mostly of vanilla and spice, with nutmeg and cinnamon dominant. Full-bodied, and with some strong black tea character, but with the spice dominating. Slightly tannic finish. I like the flavor more than the aroma.

I'm not crazy about this one, the creamy, vanilla qualities I find a bit strange. I also like ...

This really tastes like a masala chai more than any other herbal blend I've ever tried; I think someone could even fool me with it, perhaps until I noticed that it's less caffeinated. The color is a rich red, like most masala chai blends.

Aroma is mostly of clove but with significant cinnamon presence. It's so har...

This became my favorite pre-blended chai upon the first sip. It's one of the few that I think is on par with the chai I make on my own--possibly because the blend of spices is very close to what I would use myself. I did not sweeten it or use milk; I imagine I'd like it with milk, but I think it's plenty smooth as is...

Surprisingly weak given that this contains Assam black tea as the main ingredient. I brewed this in a small 6 oz. cup, for 3 minutes, with boiling water, and it still came out fairly weak (and a golden color, not a rich brown color like most black teas). My impression is either that less tea was used, or that a gentl...

The package recommends to brew for 4-6 minutes...I brewed for four. The black tea in this teabag was exceptionally weak--the cup was a clear reddish color, and I brewed with only about 6oz. of water. However, the lack of a bold black tea presence was made up for by a strong aroma of spice.

The best thing about this tea is that it has a bold black tea presence and, given that it's in a teabag and is decaffeinated, I was surprised at the strength and quality of the black tea. The flavor of...